Earthworks for Home or Farm

Date/Time

Location

What are earthworks?

Earthworks are techniques used to form earth to increase its functionality for ecological and human use. ion is any warning to us, harvesting every drop of water that falls on our property is not just ‘nice’, it’s essential. Earthworks can also help us have more land to access with the use of small home scale terraces. Adding natural swimming ponds that require no chemicals and need a fraction of the cost of

When we make a raised bed to bring the soil closer to us for working, when we build a road not only for transportation but also for harvesting rainwater or when we dig, line and build a dam for holding water for irrigation, recreation and fire prevention, there are earthworks – earth that has been formed for increased functionality.

So why come to a course on earthworks?

Earthworks can help our properties by increasing the amount of water that is passively harvested. If California’s current situat

Compost Tea Mini Workshop and Cover Cropping – A whole other workshop introducing you into the world of microbes

Over the course of the workshop you’ll have a chance to tour and explore the site. Points of interest to explore include:

pre-existing swales

rainwater capture

grey water system

hugelkultur

raised beds

espalier trees

bokaski composting

composting

vermicomposting

repurposed shed for plant starts

We will be employing a mix of classroom, hands-on, experiential and social learning in this 2 and a half day workshop. We will teach you to read the landscape to recognize opportunities for harvesting water. A combination of classroom and hands-on exercises will give you the right tools you need to drought-proof your landscape.

We will be exploring the world of Earthworks and learning about such techniques as Swales, Keyline Design, Hugelkultur, Terracing and Earth Dams. We will delve deep into these concepts and discuss the correct application for each technique and why and where they work and don’t work. Throughout the weekend we will be employing our new knowledge to survey, site, design and construct some of these incredibly productive and effective structures.

Javan offers a unique balance of content-focused education with student-centered learning. Javan has spent extensive time learning and installing Earthworks with Sepp Holzer, including time studying with him in Austria in 2013, Geoff Lawton, Darren Doherty and Mark Shepard. He’s recently back from Cuba where he lead a diverse crew of Cuban and International students installing over 220m of terraces with nothing but picks and shovels. Javan is a wealth of knowledge and has a fun upbeat teaching style that is bound to leave you grinning from ear to ear.